RN that wants to become a Dentist

[Pochita]

Hello,

This is my first post on here. I always had an interest in going to Dentistry, however, due to medical issues from family and lack of money, I wasn't able to apply to dental school from undergrad. Due to this I ended up attending an accelerated BSN program, graduated in 2020, and received a 3.5 GPA. The good thing is that I received my BS in Bio in 2019 and graduated with a cGPA of 3.62 and sGPA of 3.39 and, thus, completed my pre-reqs for Dental School (Also if this matters, I received a full scholarship for bio undergrad so I have no debt from that as well as paid off all my loans from nursing school). After shadowing my dentist, this is something that I really want to pursue and go forward with.

Some background, I am currently am a 26 y/o ED nurse with 4 years of experience in a trauma level 1 center in the US. I am also BLS, ACLS, and PALS certified. Edit: I am also hispanic and speak both English and Spanish. In the ED I work in we have Oral & Maxillofacial surgery routinely come into the ED for consults for cases from dental abscess drainages to evaluations for pretty gnarly mandibular/maxillary fractures. While I haven't witness them correct the fractures I have helped assist them in I&Ds of multiple abscesses.

My question is since I graduated and completed my pre-reqs in 2019, will dental school still accept them or are they considered too old and must be retaken? I know I need a good DAT score in order to seem competitive but is my GPA in good standing as it is or will I need to do a post-bacc? Also was able to complete undergrad research from Sophomore to Senior year as a bio major, do volunteer work with the hispanic community from 2015-2020, ETC.

Thank you all for taking the time to read this and feel free to ask any questions for more clarity.

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[Ryxndek]

Most schools have a 5 year cutoff for prerequisites, so chances are you'll need to redo some/all of them. You could do them at a community college, however it will limit you to some schools, but not all, as some flat out do not accept CC credits. You could do a post-bacc at a local university if the schools that don't accept them are schools you would be heavily considering.

Your overall gpa is fine, your science GPA is below the matriculation average (~3.5), however, it's still fine. Taking undergrad prereqs and getting A's will help boost it a little bit and give schools confidence you can succeed in their program.

I would also make sure you have experiences related to dentistry such as shadowing. You really want to make sure this is the right choice since you are already in a healthcare setting as a nurse and schools will certainly ask why the switch to see if you have really thought long and hard about changing careers. You will want to take up some more volunteer hours if you can to show you're still contributing to your community.

I'd think it would take you a year or 2 before you're ready to apply, you'd be around 29 when you matriculate and 33 when you're done with school. I have classmates who are older than this, but you have to think if the 400-600k+ debt is going to be worth it.

 

[OncePreDent]

I would consider reaching out to the dental schools that you are interested to see if they would take your courses. They may require you to retake some, but the only way to find out is if you contact them.

I wish you all the best though! As long as you have a good DAT I don't think you would need to do a post-bacc program. you could take a few classes here and there if you wanted too. But the biggest thing for you right now is taking the DAT; then, you are going to have to figure out how to get some LORs as well.

 

[RaveDamsey]

Consider the debt load before you do this. It may simply not be worth it.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

We have a number of archived posts from RN's who wanted to be dentists. I also found one IG account from a graduated dental student who worked in a pediatric ER as an RN/BSN (IG teethntrauma). It seems she was headed to pediatric dentistry, so I'm not sure if you have similar motivation. Basically I'm sharing because if you haven't met this one account (or found others), I won't completely say it's impossible.

If you have your BA/BS in Biology, then I'm not as worried about your coursework rigor (compared to if you got a BSN only). Ask the dental schools around you about their position on your prerequisites, especially if you have to take the upper-level biology courses. You could shop around for a postbac program if you consistently get feedback that your prerequisites are "expired."

You should also ask pointed questions about interprofessional opportunities that dental and nursing students have together at schools on your list. Interprofessional education is a big thing, but it doesn't always happen between nursing and dental as it could. One of the longstanding collaborations happens at NYU, but most of us don't want to saddle you with a huge COA debt (especially if you have so little coming out of undergrad). Did you have any such experience before completing your BSN? Oregon HSU apparently has a program where dental students work with Pediatric Nurse Practitioners (https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13561820.2021.1903406).

Obviously you should carefully think of your alternatives in advancing to higher levels of responsibility while working in nursing (masters, DNP). You can also see if dental hygiene is a possibility.

 

[Let me out!]

I'm in for a full support.

Definitely some scary talks above, but they're not untrue.

I had quite a journey in my life with some medical issues, financial issues, etc. Finished all my requirements by 2013, but I was "recruited" to teach a science course in college which also allowed me to work as a prehealth advisor. Spent 6 years there, much longer than originally planned. Got into dental school at 32, graduated and working now. I'm probably a outlier and very lucky, but making quite a lot more.

With that said. You should contact schools regarding requirements. Some of mine were almost 10 years old, but many schools were fine with it. It's a mere recommendation, not a solid timeframe. If you did well on DAT, surely that proves your qualifications on the subjects. Every interview I went, they always mentioned rather old prereq, but they shoved it aside seeing my DAT (it was 27). So yes, you should absolutely ace DAT.

Are you too old for it? I wish I was 26 when I started. You're not old at all.

Financially? If we just consider the average income, yes, the income to debt ratio might not look so favorable. Trust me, I felt the same, especially as a grad from NYU. But with my income now, I don't think it'll be much of a problem.

Volunteering? The whole nursing career is "volunteering." Maybe add a few community services, but I wouldn't worry too much of it.

Good luck!

 

[futuredentist420]

Hello I am wondering why you would want to switch careers? As a nurse, wouldn't you be able to make anywhere from 100k to 160k as a travel nurse?

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Just cross posting

Dentist vs Travel Nurse

Hello everyone. I got recently accepted into dental school but I've been looking into this travel nurse thing. It would only be 1 more year of schooling rather than 4 years, and a lot less expensive and difficult. The salary of a travel nurse is anywhere from 80k to 200k from what I've read. So...

forums.studentdoctor.net

 

[Pochita]

Hello I am wondering why you would want to switch careers? As a nurse, wouldn't you be able to make anywhere from 100k to 160k as a travel nurse?

Currently pay is not all that its seems to be now that the golden COVID pay has passed. Currently the rate for an ED travel nurse is about $2500-3000 per week when during the height of COVID it was double or triple. I've met a lot of ED travelers switch back to ED staff due to pay decreasing as well as not as good benefits being provided when compared to the benefits given when working for a hospital. Travelers have also told me that they switched to staff due to the fact they're tired of traveling far to their assignments and also are now having trouble finding assignments to begin with. This is because hiring nurse travelers is expensive to Hospitals. For example, our hospital's CEO said we lost billions of dollars due to just hiring and paying travelers the rates they were getting when COVID was at its height. To alleviate this, they and other hospitals have made the role Hospital in-system travelers and have closed their doors to agency nurse travelers. Pay for these In-system travelers are a little above staff nurses, but not worth it as they put you in the hospital where there is the most need, so you can be from 5 mins to 2 hours away from where you're assigned to. These in-system travel nurse jobs also do not give a stipend.

I would like autonomy which is my biggest thing right now. I know I could pursue CRNA or NP, however, when I shadowed a CRNA I did not like the fact they had rotational hours and had 24 hr call. I know this fact doesn't speak for other jobs that a CRNA can join such as same-day surgery centers or others, but overall I just felt that it didn't align with me. NP has good hours, however, I had friends talk about their time in NP school and I do not like how it does not get as in-depth into medical concepts as you would see in other professional schools. Both great careers, however, (with NP) I would like to come out of school with more medical knowledge and be a good provider, whether it be as a Dentist or another type of provider. Don't get me wrong though, I've met amazing and very competent NPs both in the ED I work in as well as other specialties, however, it scares me when I see and hear about mistakes being made by NPs that shouldn't be made. 😞 Not their fault but its honestly how NP school education is built.

Edit: Another reason why, which I forgot to add, is that I'm tired of bedside and the hours I work. I love all things ED and the interaction I get with many of my patients, but I'm tired of being physically abused by my patients (yes we get hit by a lot of our patients, esp psych holds and those with dementia) as well as verbally abused. ED is busier than ever now and now that hospitals are at or near max capacity it can take hours to days for an admitted patient to get a room out of the ED. We even had people that were admitted never leave the ED and just straight up get discharged from there without ever going upstairs. Because of this, and understandably so, a lot of our patients and families like to take their frustration out on us and some even believe we nurses are the ones at fault for not getting them upstairs quick enough. For hours, yeah we work three 12 hr shifts a week, however, it can be really taxing on the body. Your only choice is working 7a-7p, 11a-11p, 3p-3a, and 7p-7a and you must also work every other weekend and holiday.

 

[Pochita]

I'm in for a full support.

Definitely some scary talks above, but they're not untrue.

I had quite a journey in my life with some medical issues, financial issues, etc. Finished all my requirements by 2013, but I was "recruited" to teach a science course in college which also allowed me to work as a prehealth advisor. Spent 6 years there, much longer than originally planned. Got into dental school at 32, graduated and working now. I'm probably a outlier and very lucky, but making quite a lot more.

With that said. You should contact schools regarding requirements. Some of mine were almost 10 years old, but many schools were fine with it. It's a mere recommendation, not a solid timeframe. If you did well on DAT, surely that proves your qualifications on the subjects. Every interview I went, they always mentioned rather old prereq, but they shoved it aside seeing my DAT (it was 27). So yes, you should absolutely ace DAT.

Are you too old for it? I wish I was 26 when I started. You're not old at all.

Financially? If we just consider the average income, yes, the income to debt ratio might not look so favorable. Trust me, I felt the same, especially as a grad from NYU. But with my income now, I don't think it'll be much of a problem.

Volunteering? The whole nursing career is "volunteering." Maybe add a few community services, but I wouldn't worry too much of it.

Good luck!

Thank you for this. Congrats on getting through Dental school and getting well established into your career! I'll definitely take yours as well as everyone's advice on contacting each school regarding the requirements. I understand everyone is not trying to sugarcoat anything and letting me know exactly what I'm getting into; I 100% appreciate each and every one of you.

 

[Pochita]

You should also ask pointed questions about interprofessional opportunities that dental and nursing students have together at schools on your list. Interprofessional education is a big thing, but it doesn't always happen between nursing and dental as it could. One of the longstanding collaborations happens at NYU, but most of us don't want to saddle you with a huge COA debt (especially if you have so little coming out of undergrad). Did you have any such experience before completing your BSN?

The good thing is I have! In the ED I work in we have Oral & Maxillofacial surgery routinely come into the ED for consults for cases from dental abscess drainages to evaluations for pretty gnarly mandibular/maxillary fractures. While I haven't witness them correct the fractures I have helped assist them in I&Ds of abscesses which is still pretty cool imo!

 

[Pochita]

I would consider reaching out to the dental schools that you are interested to see if they would take your courses. They may require you to retake some, but the only way to find out is if you contact them.

I wish you all the best though! As long as you have a good DAT I don't think you would need to do a post-bacc program. you could take a few classes here and there if you wanted too. But the biggest thing for you right now is taking the DAT; then, you are going to have to figure out how to get some LORs as well.

Thank you so much for this information! I will definitely ask, study hard and rip through that DAT, and manifest the acceptance! Good thing is that I am friends with someone from undergrad who is married to a Dentist so I already have plans to accrue shadowing hours from him as well as the LOR

 

[Saddleshoes]

Hey Pochita

If you get into dental school.
Look me up at the start of your D4 year. I want you to come to my GPR. (GPR = General Practice Residency)
Part of what we do is provide dental coverage for one of the biggest Emergency Departments in the Midwest. We would LOVE to have a resident with your background!
----Send me a PM in 3 years. I will remember you!!!

The point of this message is to let you know that your background makes you VERY desirable in the dental world. If you can afford the financial hit of dental school GO FOR IT! You will be a success.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I'm tired of being physically abused by my patients (yes we get hit by a lot of our patients, esp psych holds and those with dementia) as well as verbally abused. ED is busier than ever now and now that hospitals are at or near max capacity it can take hours to days for an admitted patient to get a room out of the ED. We even had people that were admitted never leave the ED and just straight up get discharged from there without ever going upstairs. Because of this, and understandably so, a lot of our patients and families like to take their frustration out on us and some even believe we nurses are the ones at fault for not getting them upstairs quick enough.

I can believe that.